What most forget is that the war on Afghanistan was not preëmption but a justified war of vengeance in reaction to 9/11, not unlike the declaration of war following Pearl Harbor. … Preëmption came later under the extraneous guise of a clear and present danger unrelated to terrorism — in fact, it diverted attention from what mattered most. … The overuse of “war” actually relegates it to an effectual “war” on drugs, on poverty, on crime. In reality it should be perceived as an intensive strategy to weed out killers in tandem with remedying causes inherent in violent extremism. … As any craftsman would tell you: you a hammer is a substitute of last resort for a screwdriver. … In his book, Colin In Powell’s confession of anger over “many sons of the powerful” expediently awarded safe haven in the guard or reserves during Vietnam is unknown to Bush since he doesn’t read, … The country is not divided, rather it is calculated to divide and conquer. … If it is so certain that the US will again be attacked, whatever happened to preëmptive strike or is it already in use taking down Kerry? … And by the way aren’t all the terrorists busy in Iraq? … Why would anyone want four more years of damaged goods? Surely the President has been damaged by his own “bold” decision-making … Still, I suppose, bold but wrong decisions are better than thoughtful actions. …

 Copyright © 2004 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: September 10, 2004.